<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Coming Home by hamstercheese7</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518000">Coming Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamstercheese7/pseuds/hamstercheese7'>hamstercheese7</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, One Shot, OnePieceAdmiralsWeek2020, Rosinante is so precious, Sengoku is a good dad, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:00:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamstercheese7/pseuds/hamstercheese7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 4: Family || Apocalypse AU</p>
<p>Sengoku glanced into the small living room at the half finished puzzle on the coffee table. Hopefully they could finish it when he got back in a few days. A twinge of anxiety spiked in the back of his throat. This was going to be his first time he’d been away from Rosinante in months.</p>
<p>Written for One Piece Admirals Week 2020</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante &amp; Sengoku The Buddha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>One Piece Admirals Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Coming Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Day 4 of One Piece Admirals Week 2020, prompt Family || Apocalypse AU.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The pale gray tones of the sky shone through the window, the quiet of his modest kitchen soothing Sengoku’s nerves as he took a sip of his tea. He glanced around the space as he set his cup back down on the table carefully. He had never known how loud certain sounds were until he made them and saw Rosinante flinch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was more cognizant of sounds now than he’d ever been before, but that was fine. His eyes flicked from place to place around his kitchen. A few months ago, it had been sparse, enough dishes for a solitary person, a look of infrequent use marking everything, from the toaster that had still been its box; the mostly empty refrigerator; the table with two chairs, but one covered in a thin layer of dust. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now though, there were dishes in the sink, fresh fruit in a bowl on the counter, color pencils in a cup on the table, and both chairs skewed. Warmth spread out from a small spot in the middle of his chest. It was surprising that he felt fine with this change, that it was this easy to adapt to suddenly taking on the role of a parent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d always been somewhat of a loner, not necessarily by choice. Sengoku took another sip of his tea. His job made it difficult to maintain a relationship, harder still because he chose to walk the line between politics and justice in order to maintain order, to keep life going smoothly for the public at large. He supposed that was why Garp stuck with justice and Tsuru with politics. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And as much as he loved them, Tsuru got sick of his shit faster than he did with hers, and Garp left a path of destruction in his wake that he always, always ended up cleaning up. His life would be simpler if only fighting pirates was his job. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced into the small living room at the half finished puzzle on the coffee table. Hopefully they could finish it when he got back in a few days. A twinge of anxiety spiked in the back of his throat. This was going to be his first time he’d been away from Rosinante in months. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sengoku knew Tsuru would take good care of him while he was gone, but the anxiety stayed low in his chest. He took another sip and glanced at his watch. Almost time to go. He took a breath and finished the rest of his tea, rinsed the mug out, and placed it back where it belonged. He eyed the other dishes in the sink left over from the night before. He’d been teaching Rosinante how to make curry. A fond feeling overcame him and he quickly looked away, turning towards the closed door across from him. He could do the dishes when he returned, he decided, as he walked over to what used to be his mostly empty home office. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was now Rosinante’s room. He stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him. Gone was his desk and chair, and the few unpacked boxes that had always seemed to follow him to every base he’d ever been stationed at. Now, there was a bed and a chest of drawers, a few stuffed animals and a small bookshelf. Sengoku looked down at the bed, Rosinante still asleep, curled up in a ball under the blankets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sengoku approached quietly, kneeled down and gently reached his hand out to brush the hair out of Rosinante’s face. He stirred, his eyes focusing on Sengoku’s face after a few seconds. “I’m leaving for work, I’ll be back in a few days, Tsuru will be here in a few hours,” he said quietly. There was anxiety in Rosinante’s eyes. Too much for a child his age. But, he nodded anyway and Sengoku gave him a small smile before turning and going back for the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You promise you’ll come back?” came Rosinante’s voice. Rushed and frightened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It stabbed into Sengoku’s heart. He turned slowly, looking down at the small boy who was sitting up now, the blanket gripped in his fist. He walked back to the bed and crouched down to eye level. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish I could promise that, Rosinante.” As much as he wanted to promise that he would, that would be lying, and should he fail, far crueler. “But, I won’t lie to you. Being in the Navy means putting your life on the line, to protect the public. To protect children like you,” he said gently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rosinante’s lip trembled but he nodded. A heaviness settled in Sengoku’s chest as he turned back for the door again. It was as he reached for the door knob that he heard the sudden small footsteps, Rosinante crashing into his legs and threw his arms around Sengoku’s waist, squeezing with all the strength he had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stared down at the mess that was Rosinante’s hair. His hand was resting on the doorknob. He needed to go but... Rosinante was just a kid, a particularly fragile one at the moment. He deserved a parent who wouldn’t leave, someone who led a normal life, but all he had was him. “I’ll be okay,” came Rosinante’s voice suddenly, whispered into the fabric of Sengoku’s pants. Sengoku’s eyes widened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He froze before tentatively placing his hands around his small shoulders. Maybe he needed as much comfort as Rosinante did. </span>
</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>
  <span>As he left his house, he glanced back at the window, and felt a small smile appear on his face as Rosinante waved at him. He waved back. He would return, he had a reason now.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Rosinante wanted to save kids too, just like Sengoku did for him and I am going to go weep in the corner. This was written for Admiral Week 2020, thanks to the folks on the server for all their help!</p>
<p>Let me know your thoughts!</p>
<p>As always, thank you for reading and you can find me on twitter @buggyisbest</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>